President Joe Biden called the shooting at former President Donald Trump’s Saturday rally “sick,” speaking in an address to the nation.
The president said that he was thoroughly briefed and that he had tried to contact Trump on the phone, but that he hadn’t had the chance to speak with Trump yet.
“It’s sick. It’s sick. It’s one of the reasons why we have to unite this country,” Biden said.
When asked whether this was an assassination attempt, Biden said that he had an opinion, but didn’t have the facts yet. He added that if he speaks with Trump, he will again update the press.
“I have tried to get a hold of Donald. He’s with his doctors. Apparently he’s doing well,” Biden said. “I plan on talking to him shortly, I hope, when I get back to the telephone.”
“Look, there’s no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick. It’s sick,” the president continued. “It’s one of the reasons why we have to unite this country. We cannot allow for this to be happening. We cannot be like this. We cannot condone this.”
“I want to thank the Secret Service and all the agencies, including the state agencies, that have been engaged,” Biden added. “We have more detail to come relative to other injured — other people may be injured in the audience. I don’t have all that detail. We’ll make that available to you. I may be able to come back a little later tonight, but we’ll put out a statement if we don’t — if I’m not able to, if it’s not convenient for you all.”
“But the bottom line is that the Trump rally was a rally that he should have been able to be conducted peacefully without any problem,” the Democratic candidate lamented. “But the idea, the idea that there’s political violence, or violence in America like this is just unheard of, is just not appropriate.”
“Everybody must condemn it. Everybody,” Biden added. “I’ll keep you informed. And if I am able to speak to Donald, I’ll let you know that as well. So far, it appears he’s doing well.”
Concluding his remarks, Biden said, “I’m going back to my phone to speak with the federal agencies that are being put together, again, to give me an updated briefing if anything happened, if they learned more in the last couple hours. So thank you very much, and I hope I get to speak to him tonight, and I’ll get back to you if I do.”
In an earlier statement, Biden wrote, “I have been briefed on the shooting at Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania. I’m grateful to hear that he’s safe and doing well. I’m praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally, as we await further information.”
“Jill and I are grateful to the Secret Service for getting him to safety,” the president’s statement continued. “There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it.”
Trump had been speaking for approximately five minutes when shots rang out. He grabbed his right ear before he was told to duck by Secret Service agents. Trump had blood running down his face and mouthed “Fight” at the crowd several times following the shooting.
A member of the audience was killed, as was the shooter, Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger told press outlets. Another audience member remains in serious condition.
The shooting was swiftly condemned by politicians from across the political spectrum. “There is absolutely no place for political violence in our democracy,” former President Barack Obama wrote. “Although we don’t yet know exactly what happened, we should all be relieved that former President Trump wasn’t seriously hurt, and use this moment to recommit ourselves to civility and respect in our politics.”
Former Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan delivered one of the most emotional responses, writing, “F–king unacceptable. Zero tolerance for violence of any sort. I pray the former President is ok and all attendees. I don’t give a s–t what ur politics are. The competition is at the ballot box, not with guns. Let’s pray for peace and nonviolence in America.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders, himself a former presidential candidate, issued a statement that read, “Political violence is absolutely unacceptable. I wish Donald Trump, and anyone else who may have been hurt, a speedy recovery.”
